Mr. Dozier’s competency did not appear to be an issue in the court process. “By his volunteering for execution and forcing the issue, Nevada had to come up with execution drugs, and they engaged in a pattern of lies and subterfuge in order to do that,” Mr. Dunham said. That Nevada might never set an execution date weighed heavily on Mr. Dozier in recent months, Mr. Ericsson continued, adding that his client’s mental health had deteriorated after the delays and after being frequently kept in isolation or on suicide watch. “The experience was so awful he could never fathom doing it again,” said Mr. Chammah, who interviewed Mr. Dozier many times and wrote a profile about his case last year. But, he continued, “there’s definitely a part of me that feels like he got the last word in all of this.”

Source: New York Times January 08, 2019 01:32 UTC